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New South Wales
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Fact
Page
Capital City:
Sydney
Major Cities:
Newcastle,Wollongong
Area:
802,000 sq km
Population:
5.6 million
Did you know?
New South Wales is Australia's most poplulous State.
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Geography
New South Wales has three main physical regions from north to
south. The narrow strip of coastal lowlands is very aquatic region,
while sediments and volcanic rocks characterise the eastern highlands
and the interior western plains. The fertile western plains cover two
thirds of the state and are used mainly for pastoralising and grain
farming. Irregular river flow and rainfall produce a semi-arid to
arid climate which is susceptible to severe and prolonged
droughts.Forests of eucalyptus, pine, and tropical softwood are found
on the coastal plain and in the highlands. In the eastern highlands
lies a mountainous strip called the Great Dividing Range. It is a
series of plateaus with an average elevation of 760 m that separates
the narrow coast from the great plains to the west, making New South
Wales a land of contrasts. The Great Dividing Range also has some of
the best grazing and agricultural areas in the state. Mount Kosciusko
is the maximum elevation point for the Great Diving Range and also
the highest peak in Australia. Grass is the dominant vegetation in
the vast semiarid interior.
To the east of the state is the Pacific Ocean, to the north -
Queensland, to the south - Victoria, and to the west - South
Australia.
The Murray, Murrumbidgee, Darling rivers are the major rivers in
the state with the longest in the country being the Darling River
(2617 km long). These rivers flow from the north of the state to the
south-west to join with the Murray river near the Victorian border.
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Climate
If you hate those very hot days and those bone-chilling cold
days, New South Wales may just be perfect for you. This state lies in
the temperate zone and the climate is generally free from extremes of
heat and cold. The annual average temperature is between 12öC
and 21öC (53öF-69öF).
The greatest heat is usually experienced in the north-west; with
51öC as the highest shade temperature ever recorded. The coldest
area is in the Snowy Mountains, where one has to live through long
periods of winter frosts and snow.
Rainfall varies throughout the state, averaging 1,138 mm. The far
north-west receives the least, less than 180 mm annually.
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History
British explorer Captain James Cook first chartered the coast
of New South Wales in 1770 and claimed the land for Great Britain. In
1778, Australia's first settlement was established at Sydney Cove as
a British prison camp, this was because the English prisons were
over-crowded. During the 1820s free settlers migrated to Sydney at a
more increasing rate than convicts and settlement expanded from the
shores of Sydney to Parramatta and then along the Nepean-Hawkesbury
River.
As more free settlers came to the colony the need for more land
became essential, especially for farmers to use for grazing and
agricultural purposes . On May 11, 1813, three explorers (Blaxland,
Lawson and Wentworth) began and expedition to cross the Blue
Mountains that was a barrier to more land. After the successful
crossing of the Blue Mountains, roads were built to make the Bathurst
plains more accessible. Although the roads were rough and rugged, it
was clear that the mountains had been beaten. The settlement could
now move out.
Originally the colony of New South Wales occupied more than half
the continent, but it shrank as other colonies were established. The
colony became a state in 1901 after Australia was officially declared
a nation.
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